Ahead of Thursday's Bank of England and ECB policy decisions, company results include finals from Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL) (Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL), Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL)) could provide more insight into the ongoing review of its residential energy wing, as well as windfall taxes.
Shareholder returns and renewables intentions will be under the most intense investor scrutiny, with one set of analysts arguing the present plans to increase dividends by 15% and repurchase more than US$18bln of shares are not nearly enough.
Elsewhere among the blue-chips, BT Group PLC (LSE:BT.A) (BT Group PLC (LSE:BT.A)) has been getting some bullish broker support ahead of its results, especially for any investors who have held on through the 70-plus decline in the four years leading up to the pandemic.
In focus will be the above-inflation price hikes pencilled in for the coming months and an update on merger talks with Three UK – with the group seen as “walking either the tightrope or the plank” going into its quarterlies.
Across the Atlantic, the giant tech trio of Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) (Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL)), Alphabet Inc and Amazon.com Inc release earnings after the closing bell in New York, with recent weeks being characterised by jobs cut announcements around the sector.
For Apple, where Q1 numbers tend to be the company’s best quarter, expectations have been tempered by the problems with its China supply chains and production shutdowns at Foxconn before Christmas.
Google owner Alphabet's prior quarter saw ad revenue come in below expectations, YouTube revenues declining but the cloud business a big silver lining - which news has been followed by announcements about thousands of job cuts.
Amazon also disappointed with its last quarter, especially with guidance for sales of between $140bn to $148bn for the pre-Christmas period, well below the US$155.5bn that had been forecast, partly due to a strong US dollar. Costs will also be watched after rising sharply over the last nine months.
Significant announcements
Finals: Shell PLC
Interims: Renishaw PLC (LSE:RSW) (Renishaw PLC (LSE:RSW)), NCC PLC
Trading updates: Airtel Africa PLC (LSE:AAF) (Airtel Africa PLC (LSE:AAF)), Anglo America PLC, BT Group PLC, Cranswick PLC (LSE:CWK) (Cranswick PLC (LSE:CWK)), JTC PLC (LSE:JTC) (JTC PLC (LSE:JTC))
AGMs: Abrdn Equity Income Trust PLC, Agronomics Limited, Alteration Earth PLC (LSE:ALTE) (Alteration Earth PLC (LSE:ALTE)), Baillie Gifford European Growth Trust PLC, Hargreave Hale AIM VCT PLC, JPMorgan Indian Investment Trust PLC, Sage Group PLC, Schroder European Real Estate Investment Trust PLC
Economic announcements: Continuing Claims (US), Initial Jobless Claims (US), Factory Orders (US)
US earnings: Amazon, Apple, Eli Lilly, Hershey, Clorox